Miele Novotronic Premier 500 Smell And Grey Deposits

[mark1caroline]

Hi All,

Please please can someone help me save my washing machine before my better half gets her way and makes a bee line for the washing machine shop with my wallet in hand!!!!

We have a superb Miele washing machine which has given us faultless service over the last 9 years or so.

In the last 9 months its developed a nasty smell, we always leave the main load and powder draw open, we have always followed the recommendation of a hot wash every couple of months and can't understand where we have gone wrong.

I assume the smell is due to bacteria build up, I have tried the maintenance deep clean products from the supermarkets, it seems to work for a short time but the smell soon returns, I read on your very helpful board relating to smelly machines that we should use Bio Powder, I wrongly assumed liquid would be better.

I tried the soda crystal treatment, I wasn't sure how much to use so went for a good small cupful, I gave it a full cycle of 95 degrees with soak and extra water to give it the best chance of success, it has improved the smell for the moment but now when we wash clothes the whites are peppered with grey spots from the holes in the drum the washing also gets randomly splattered by grey gunge. HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.

My wife has also mentioned that she doesn't think the clothes are being rinsed properly and sometimes but not very often the excess detergent light comes on, this might be just coincidental and not related. I have check the coin filter and the pump vane looks good with little or no radial play.

Is there a clean all maintenance solution for washing machines, being a mechanic by trade I am at the point of wiping the back off and trying to remove the drum to properly clean the thing out, is this possible although may be a little drastic? I am loathed the bin the machine, it looks like new, is quiet as a mouse and performs perfectly all but the gunge and smell.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice any of you guys can offer a harassed husband.

Kind Regards

Mark

[edhorwood]

Around the 10th birthday of my machine, I had to split the drum casing because there was an object behind the drum which had fallen out of someones pocket. I couldn't get it to fall into the sump without help from using a wire between the drum and casing. You know, after 10 years I was shocked at how little build up there was in there. I expected there to be clumps of old soap etc, but to be honest there was far more collecting behind the soap dispenser than under the drum. What I do is pour half a cup of bleach into the drum, shut the door and let it fill with water on the coldest setting. I then switch it to drain. I repeat this 3 times and when the machine isn't in use I leave the door open. I do the bleach thing probably once every week or two. I haven't smelt a thing since starting that procedure. The longest time my machine has been left without being used is 7 days.

[mark1caroline]

Hi Edd, thanks for your reply, I have heard others using bleach to kill off the smell, I guess it kills the organisms that cause the smell. I will employ this on my next cleaning cycle perhaps followed by a dose of Soda Crystals.

Last night a white load of washing was covered in grey mucky dots the same pattern as the drum, I assumed this was the muck lifting off the wash drum after treating it with soda crystals?

Just before we retired last night I used a powder detergent, extra water on 95 degrees and kept my fingers crossed that this would flush out any grey gunge, this morning we re-washed the grey splattered load with total success, no dots, no grey muck and no smell, will it last? Was it a fluke?

Has anyone got any advice about detergent that's best to use to avoid this problem in the future at lower temperatures, it seems from your boards that powder is favored over liquid? And Bio is better than None Bio? My wife has sensitive skin so she is concerned about switching products.

It would appear that the detergent manufactures are responsible for this ill thought-out drive for lower temperature washing, I wouldn't wash my greasy dishes in luke warm water! Why are they driving me to wash my clothes in the same

[edhorwood]

I tried liquid detergent for a week, but it didn't seem to dissolve properly and blobs of it were settling on clothes. The detergent draw was also a sticky mess. Went back to bio powder and much better results. Powder seems to dissolve as quickly as sugar in hot water as long as you don't use too much of course.

[JetSystem]

Hi Mark,

I've found the best way to clean a washing machine drum is by running it on a boil wash with a cup of soda crystals, then running it on another boil wash with a cup of white vinegar. Make sure you clean the detergent dispenser out and clean behind the detergent dispenser and the water inlet holes in the top with a bleach spray (I would do this first, that way when you run the boil wash to clean the machine, it washes all the left over bleach out of the detergent dispenser).

With regards to detergent, liquid detergents at low temps are the biggest cause of dirty, smelly machines. Bio powder is considerably better than anything else and keeps your machine cleaner. This is especially important at lower temperatures. Non-bio doesn't contain enzymes, so hotter wash temperatures are essential if you're going to wash with non-bio. Make sure you stick to 60 degree cycles to effectively wash bedding and towels though (also bear in mind that washing machines are given their energy ratings based on 60 degree cycles, so you don't need to worry about high bills as a result) - you'll notice the difference in how clean things are and it will also keep your machine smell free.

If your wife is worried about skin irritation, use the "water plus" feature on your Miele which will throw in an extra rinse and make sure all the detergent is rinsed out. Don't use too much powder - follow the dosing instructions on the box. I use about 80ml per wash. Fabric softener can also trigger skin irritation, so don't use any more than half a cap per wash.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.

Chris

[mark1caroline]

Thanks guys, all great advice, I think from all the advice given a multi pronged attack using regular bleach / vinegar and soda crystals sessions is the way forward, its certainly smell free at the moment.

Thanks for the spray bleach idea Chris I will certainly try with around the door seal and soap draw where I can see there could be a potential for smells, mold and other nasty's. The water plus idea with Bio powder sounds a winner as well.

I recon you guys may have saved a good Miele from the washing machine grave yard.

Thanks again guys, have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.